Hydraulic oscillating vane motor



y 24, 1955 H. J. SHAFER 2,708,907

HYDRAULIC OSCILLATING VANE MOTOR Filed Oct. 28, 1953 4 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. HOMER .1. SHAFER ATTORNEYS M y 24, 1955 i H. J. SHAFER 2,708,907

HYDRAULIC OSCILLATING VANE MOTOR Filed 001". 28, 1953 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIGZ - INVEN HOMER J. SHAF I ATTORNEYS May 24, 1955 H. J. SHAFER HYDRAULIC OSCILLATING VANE MOTOR 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Oct. 28, 1953 ATTORNEYS United States Patent Ofiice 2,708,907 Patented May 24, 1955 HYDRAULIC OSCILLATING VANE MOTOR Homer J. Shafer, Mansfield, Ohio, assignor to Mansfield Development, Inc., Mansfield, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application October 28, 1953, Serial No. 388,860

6 Claims. (Cl. 121-38) The invention relates generally to hydraulic motors having one or more rotary impeller vanes, and more particularly to rotary hydraulic motors adapted to operate rotary plug or ball valves.

When a hydraulic motor of this type is applied to a rotary valve, the rotor is keyed to the valve stem and the motor mounted on the side flange or top flange of the valve, as in my copending application Serial No. 348,355, filed April 13, 1953, and entitled Hydraulic Valve Operator. As disclosed in said application, the hydraulic motor may be driven by pump means selectively by hand or power operation, and in either case a fluid such as oil is forced to flow in a closed circuit through the motor in one direction to close the valve and in the opposite direction to open the valve.

In order to compensate for expansion and contraction of'the oil in such a closed circuit, it is desirable that a cushion of air be provided in the motor, but the air must be prevented from getting into the pump and interfering with its operation. If the oil level in the motor is allowed to drop to the level of the pump connections at any time, the air cushion above the oil will flow into the pump. Moreover, where cross-over ports are provided in the hub of the rotor to connect the pressure and exhaust sides of opposite vanes and the valve stem projects well into the hub, the cross-over ports may be more conveniently located at a level near the top of the motor chamber and if the oil level should fall below that of one of the ports, the continuous flow of oil is interrupted and air gets into the pump.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a novel hydraulic rotary impeller valve operator construction which allows an air cushion to be maintained within the operator but prevents any air from leaving the operator. and insures continuous flow of fluid pressure therethrough to drive the impeller. I

Another object is to provide a novel hydraulic rotary impeller valve 'operatorconstruction which .can be operated in an upright position or turned .on its side without danger of air entering the'purnp. 'A further object is to provide a novel hydraulic rotary impeller motor construction which is inexpensive to construct and assemble.

These and other objects are accomplished by the construction and arrangement of the hydraulic valve operator comprising the present invention, a preferred embodiment of which is shown by way of example in the acompanying drawing anddescribed in detail herein. Various modifications and chanes in details of construction may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

" Referring to the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a plan elevational view of a hydraulic motor embodying-the novel construction of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view as on line 22, Fig. L'showing the hydraulic motor mounted on a valve flange; I Y

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view on line 3-3, Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view on line 44, Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a plan sectional view showing the rotor at the limit of its movement in one direction; and

Fig. 6 is an exploded view showing the manner of assembling the novel hydraulic motor.

The hydraulic motor comprises a cylindrical casing having a rotor therein, the rotor preferably having a hub 10 and a pair of radially extending diametrically opposite vanes 11 which make a liquid-tight seal with the walls of the casing. In the present construction, the cylindrical side wall 12 and the bottom wall 13 may be integral as shown, and the top wall 14 is a heavy plate secured at intervals to the cylindrical wall 12 by screws 15.

The rotor 10 has an axial bore fitting around the valve stem 16, and the rotor is splined to the stern preferably at one of four diametrically opposite places. Thus, the stern may have one or more keys 17 fitting in one or more keyways 18 in the rotor. The top of the stem 16 may have a conduit 19 projecting upwardly therefrom for the purpose of supplying lubricant to the valve stem. The purpose of having four keyways will be hereinafter described.

Preferably, bushings 20 of hardened steel or other suitable bearing material are interposed between the hub 10 of the rotor and the bottom and top plates 13 and 14, and these bushings have annular shoulders which abut annular shoulders 22 in the bottom and top plates to hold the bushings in place when assembled. O-rings 23 are provided between the bushings and plates 13 and 14 to make a tight seal.

The portions of the hub 10 which are journaled in bushings 20 are provided with axially spaced O-rins 24 to make a liquid-tight seal between the rotor andthe bushings. The double O-ring arrangement prevents the lubricant in the fotor from getting out and the dust and dirt outside from getting in. Between each pair of 0- rings 24 an annular lubrication groove 25 may be provided, and the grooves communicate with a passageway 26 extending parallel to the hub axis in one wall thereof, and connected to a conventional lubricating fitting 27 at one end thereof.

The rotor vanes 11 are preferably integral with the hub 10, dividing the annular chamber of the motor into two parts. Each vane has a continuous groove '28 of rectangular cross section extending along its top, side and bottom edges, in which is located a substantially U- shaped O-ring 29 forming a pressure seal between the vane and the walls of the chamber to prevent the escape of pressure fluid from one part of the chamber to the other. The inner ends 30 of the rings 29 may be dis-, posed at right angles to the upper and lower legs-thereof and anchored in holes extending from the outer journal surfaces of the hub.

A pair of diametrically opposite shoes or abutments 32 and 32' is mounted in the casing by means of screws 33 threaded through the casing 12 and the bottom and top plates 13 and 14. Each shoe is provided along its top, bottom and inner and outer edges with a contin: uous groove of rectangular cross section in which a rectangular O-ring 35 is located. These rings 35 provide pressure seals between the shoes and the walls of the chamber, and between the inner edges of the shoes and the rotor hub 10. The shoes 32 and 32"divide the chamber of the motor into two parts A and B, one vane 11 operating in'part A and the other vane 11 op; erating in part B.

The O-rings 29 and 35 are preferably made ofplastic oil-resistant material and ai'edimensionally related to their grooves to provide a pressure seal according to well known practice. The corners of the rings are molded to have sharp, substantially rectangular projections to insure positive seals at those points. The construction of the rings is shown and described in my copending application Serial No. 333,496, filed January 27, 1953.

Nozzles 36 and 36' extend through the cylinder wall 12 on opposite sides of one of the shoes, which may be shoe 32 as shown. These nozzles alternately provide the pressure and exhaust fluid connections with the chamber, nozzle 36 being the pressure connection to chamber A and nozzle 36 the exhaust connection to chamber B when the rotor is rotated clockwise and vice versa when the rotor is rotated counter clockwise. At their inner ends the nozzle openings form seats for the beveled ends 38 of spring-biased shut-off plungers mounted in the vanes 11 for closing the nozzles 36 and 36' before the vanes strike the stops 39 on the shoes. The construction and operation of these shut-ofls is shown and described in said application Serial No. 333,496.

The nozzles 36 and 36 are connected to a source of fluid pressure for operating the motor, and the pressure fluid which acts on the vanes to turn the rotor is preferably a fluid such as oil which expands and contracts due to temperature changes. Accordingly, an air space is provided above the oil level in the motor to allow for expansion of the oil. When the fluid pressure for operating the motor is supplied by a pump means, which may be a gear pump or a piston type pump, manually or power operated, the oil flows in a closed circuit from the pump to the motor and back to the pump, and if any of the air in the motor gets into the pump it may be rendered ineffective.

As indicated in Figs. 2 and 5, the nozzles 36 and 36' are located substantially at the bottom of the chamber of the motor so that even though the oil level in the chamber drops a substantial amount, it never drops enough to allow air to escape through the nozzles and hence reach the pump means supplying fluid under pressure thereto. If the nozzles were placed near the top of the chamber, the air cushion above the oil might come into communication with the nozzle on the exhaust side of one of the vanes, especially when the space between the vane and shoe is decreased to a thin section at one end of the stroke of the rotor.

As shown in Figs. 2 and 6, the bottom wall 13 of the motor casing may be supported at its outer periphery on and adapter ring 40 resting on the top flange 41 of the valve to be operated, the ring and casing being secured to the valve flange by a circumferential series of screws 42. By providing the four keyways 18, the motor may be oriented with the valve to be operated in whatever relative position is desired.

Cross-over passageways or conduits are provided for connecting the parts A and B of the chamber on diagonally opposite sides of the diametrically opposite vanes, so that when pressure fluid is applied to one side of one vane it will simultaneously be applied to the other side of the opposite vane to turn the rotor in one direction with balanced torque, and the exhaust sides of both vanes are connected by a passageway to the exhaust nozzle.

As shown in Figs. 2-4, the horizontal cross-over passageways 43 and 44 are conveniently located in a cap 45 which is secured to the top of the rotor hub by screws 46. The end portions of the passageway 43 are connected to the tops of vertical passageways 47 extending through the hub longitudinally thereof and communicating at their lower ends through ports 47' with the chambers A and D on diagonally opposite sides of the vanes 11. The end portions of the passageway 44- are connected to the tops of vertical passageways 48 extending through the hub longitudinally thereof and communicating at their lower ends through ports 43 with the chambers A and B and the other sides of the vanes. As indicated in Fig. 2, the ports 47' and 48 communicate with the parts A and B of the pressure fluid chamber at the bottom of said chamber, so that the continuous flow of oil through the cross-over passageways is not interrupted by air.

The arrangement of the horizontal passageways 43 and 44 in the cap communicating with the longitudinal passageways 47 and 43 in the hub 10 enables easy through drilling of the horizontal passageways at two levels in the cap 45, and straight longitudinal drilling of the vertical passageways in the hub. All that is necessary is to plug the ends of passageways 43 and 44 with screw plugs 49 and drill the horizontal ports 47 and 48 to connect with the bottom ends of passageways 47 and 48.

in the operation of the motor to open and close the valve by rotating the valve stem 16 through substantially when pressure fluid enters chamber A through rozzle 36 it passes into chamber B through cross-over ports 48 and 44 and rotates the rotor clockwise by applying a balanced torque to both vanes simultaneously, and exhausting pressure fluid from the chambers on the other sides of the vanes through nozzle 36 and crossover ports 47 and 43. When the rotor has moved 90, one of the shut-ofls 38 shuts off the exhaust nozzle 36 so that there can be no leakage of pressure fluid from the motor. When the flow of pressure fluid is reversed, nozzle 36' becomes the pressure nozzle and nozzle 36 becomes the exhaust nozzle, and the rotor is rotated counter clockwise until the nozzle 36 is closed by the other shut-oil 38.

By keeping the inlet and outlet connections (nozzles 36 and 36') and the ports 47 and 48' leading to the cross-over ports all down at the bottom of the motor chamber, a continuous flow of oil is assured from the source of pressure fluid through the motor to exhaust, while maintaining a cushion of air above the oil to compensate for expansion, because the oil always drains by gravity to the lower part of the chamber. Thus, if the pressure fluid is supplied by a pump, a continuous flow of oil through the circuit is assured without admitting any air to the pump, as long as there is even a small amount of oil in the motor.

Since the nozzles 36 and 36 are on opposite sides of and adjacent to one shoe 32, the motor may be positioned on its side with the nozzles at the bottom where it is desired to mount the motor on a vertical flange at the side of the valve to be operated, because in this position of the motor the oil drains by gravity to the bottom portion of the chamber to which the nozzles are connected.

It will be seen that the foregoing advantages relative to maintaining a continuous flow of oil while allowing a cushion of air in the top of the motor, are accomplished in the novel and inexpensive construction comprising the present invention, which is easy to assemble and disassemble, as well as easily mounted on a valve of conventional construction.

What is claimed is:

1. In a hydraulic rotary impeller motor having a normally upright cylinder, a pair of diametrically opposite stationary shoes in said cylinder, and a rotor having diametrically opposite vanes oscillating between the shoes and forming pairs of diametrically opposite expansible volume chambers between the vanes and shoes, fluid pressure ports extending into the lower portion of said cylinder and connecting with one of each pair of said chambers, said rotor having a cross-over passageway communicating at its ends with the lower portions of one pair of said chambers and a cross-over passageway communicating at its ends with the lower portions of the other pair of said chambers, and said passageways each having portions extending upwardly of the rotor and a crossover portion connecting the upper ends of said upwardly extending portions.

2. In a hydraulic rotary impeller motor having a normally upright cylinder, a pair of diametrically opposite stationary shoes in said cylinder, and a rotor having diametrically opposite vanes oscillating between the shoes and forming pairs of diametrically opposite expansible volume chambers between the vanes and shoes, fluid pressure ports extending into the lower portion of said cylinder and connecting with one of each pair of said chambers, the hub of said rotor having a crossover passageway communicating at its ends with the lower portions of one pair of said chambers and a cross-over passageway communicating at its ends with the lower portions of the other pair of said chambers, said passageways each having portions extending upwardly in the rotor hub, and a cap mounted on the motor over the upper end of the hub and having cross-over ports connecting the upper ends of said upwardly extending portions.

3. In a hydraulic rotary impeller motor having a normally upright cylinder, a pair of diametrically opposite stationary shoes in said cylinder, and a rotor having diametrically opposite vanes oscillating between the shoes and forming pairs of diametrically opposite expansible volume chambers between the vanes and shoes, fluid pressure ports extending into the lower portion of said cylinder on opposite sides of one of said shoes, the hub of the rotor having passageways extending longitudinally on opposite sides of the hub and communicating at their lower ends with the lower portions of the chambers of each of said pairs, and said passageways each being connected at their upper ends by a passageway extending transversely of the rotor hub whereby the diametrically opposite chambers of each pair are connected together.

4. In a hydraulic rotary impeller motor having a normally upright cylinder, a pair of diametrically opposite stationary shoes in said cylinder, and a rotor having diametrically opposite vanes oscillating between the shoes and forming pairs of diametrically opposite expansible volume chambers between the vanes and shoes, fluid pressure ports extending into the lower portion of said cylinder on opopsite sides of one of said shoes, the hub of the rotor having passageways extending longitudinally on opposite sides of the hub and communicating at their lower ends with the lower portions of the chambers of each of said pairs, and a cap mounted on the motor over the upper end of the hub having transverse passageways connecting the upper ends of opposite longitudinal passageways whereby the chambers of each pair are connected together.

5. In a hydraulic rotary impeller motor having a normally upright cylinder, a pair of diametrically opposite stationary shoes in said cylinder, and a rotor having diametrically opposite vanes oscillating between the shoes and forming pairs of diametrically opposite expansible volume chambers between the vanes and shoes, fluid pressure ports extending into the lower portion of said cylinder and connecting with one of each pair of said chambers, said rotor having a hub for fitting over the stem of a rotary valve, said hub having passageways extending longitudinally on opposite sides of the hub and communicating at their lower ends with the lower portions of the chambers of each of said pairs, a cap mounted on the motor over the upper end of the hub having transverse passageways connecting the upper ends of opposite longitudinal passageways whereby the chambers of each pair are connected together, and said hub having a plurality of circumferentially spaced internal keyways for securing the hub to the valve stem in selective relatively rotated positions.

6. In a hydraulic rotary impeller motor having a normally upright cylinder, a pair of diametrically opposite stationary shoes in said cylinder, and a rotor having diametrically opposite vanes oscillating between the shoes and forming pairs of diametrically opposite expansible volume chambers between the vanes and shoes, fluid pressure ports extending into the lower portion of said cylinder on opposite sides of one of said shoes, said rotor having a tubular hub open at both ends for fitting over the stem of a rotary valve, said hub having passageways extending longitudinally in opposite sides of the hub and communicating at their lower ends with the lower portions of the chambers of said pairs, and a cap mounted on the motor over the upper end of said hub and having transverse passageways connecting the upper ends of opposite longitudinal passageways whereby the chambers of each pair are connected together.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,991,634 Silver Feb. 19, 1935 2,164,876 Horlacher July 4, 1939 2,380,873 Schafer July 31, 1945 2,579,711 Staude Dec. 25, 1951 2,613,649 Diebel Oct. 14, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 657,873 Great Britain Sept. 26, 1951 

